Current Wolves Haylee Armstrong and Capri Anter keep alive the memory of their late cousin, Adam Garcia. (Photo courtesy Michelle Armstrong)
Big time players make big time shots.
With the game on the line Tuesday, and the season hanging in the balance, Mia Farris and Haylee Armstrong proved that true.
The steady senior splashed home a game-tying three-ball under extreme pressure, while the scrappy sophomore knocked down the game-winning bucket in the final, frantic seconds, sending the Coupeville High School gym into a mad celebration.
Overcoming an extremely rough early performance, the crunch-time heroics capped a stunning late-game rally, lifting the Wolves to a 28-26 victory over visiting Friday Harbor in a loser-out District 1/2 playoff rumble.
Down 12 in the second half in a game in which its only lead of the night came on Armstrong’s bucket, the win lifts Coupeville to 10-11 on the season.
It also propels the Wolves into another loser-out game Thursday, when they will host Orcas Island in a game slated to tip off at 1:45 PM.
Win that one and Megan Richter’s squad gets a fifth and final Bi-District game Saturday (also at home), with a ticket to state up for grabs.
Tuesday’s tussle, the third meeting with Friday Harbor this season, threatened to slip away from the Wolves.
Other than two early ties, at 2-2 and 4-4, Coupeville was ice cold from the field.
There was a seven-minute stretch that started in the first quarter and ended in the latter stages of the second frame in which nothing would drop for the Wolves.
Free throws skimmed out, a startling number of field goal attempts missed the rim entirely, and the offensive flow was stagnant.
Farris finally got a jumper to drop at the 3:18 mark of the second, but then CHS went another two minutes-plus before Tenley Stuurmans ended the first-half scoring with a three-point play the hard way.
Trailing 18-9 at the half, Coupeville’s only saving grace was its defense, keyed by Teagan Calkins crashing the boards hard to pull down some of her game-high 16 rebounds.
Teagan Calkins gets dynamic in the paint. (Jackie Saia photo)
The deficit reached its zenith at 21-9 early in the third, and then, against all odds, the comeback began.
A quick 6-0 run, sparked by Danica Strong rumbling in the paint, Katie Marti going coast-to-coast, and team sparkplug Jada Heaton forcing a steal in the backcourt and turning it into a bucket, greatly helped.
Then, after Friday Harbor briefly rallied, Calkins launched an elegant three-ball from the right side, splashing it home to cut the lead to 24-18 heading into the fourth.
The final frame was a study in contrasts.
Friday Harbor, which had led all game, suddenly looked tense, and the ramped-up Wolf defense created a steady string of turnovers.
Hanging on for dear life, the visitors flinched, and flinched hard, in the final moments, committing a crucial turnover late and failing to convert on a pair of key free throws.
That left an opening for Coupeville, and the Wolves pounced.
A breakaway bucket from Farris and two charity shots by Marti made things interesting, with a Tenley Stuurmans free throw slicing the deficit to 26-23.
Nerves were on edge, every fight for a rebound was crucial, with Calkins and Madison McMillan standing tall, and Farris?
Well, they do call her “Mia the Magnificent” for a reason.
Mia Farris doesn’t miss. (Bailey Thule photo)
Taking a kick-out off of an offensive rebound, she drilled nothing but net on her three-ball, tying the game and pushing her to #50 all-time on the CHS girls’ basketball career scoring list.
But the Wolf magic wasn’t done just yet.
Tuesday was a day of celebration, but also of loss, a mix of bittersweet memories, for CHS teammates Capri Anter and Haylee Armstrong and their extended family.
The girl’s older cousin, former Wolf football player Adam Garcia, was murdered in Oak Harbor in 2014 and Tuesday would have been his 32nd birthday.
There are a lot of ways the clash with Friday Harbor could have ended.
That it finished with Armstrong flashing in from the left side of the floor, taking a pass from Calkins and banking in a game winner, the ball hesitating for a second before dropping through the net, is what feels right.
Tipped by an angel.
And then Friday Harbor’s final, futile push up court ended as suddenly as it began, the ball knocked free and snatched up by Calkins, with “The Red Dragon” hugging the orb to her chest as everything and everyone went bonkers around her.
While Coupeville’s scoring was limited, the points were divvied up, with eight of nine players to hit the floor keeping scorekeeper Christi Messner busy.
Farris topped the Wolves with seven points and now has 245 for her varsity career.
She’s the third active player to crack the all-time top 50, along with fellow seniors Marti (#37 with 317 points) and Lyla Stuurmans (#45 with 256 points).
Tenley Stuurmans (5), Calkins (4), Marti (4), Armstrong (2), Strong (2), Heaton (2), and Lyla Stuurmans (2) also scored Tuesday, with McMillan providing a spark on defense.
Jada Heaton, always hustling, always doing all the important little things. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Coupeville Sports 